


On the Right Side of the Wrong Bed

by awfuldaycupcake



Series: Unrelated Christmas One Shots! [6]
Category: Thomas Sanders, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Have some (accidentally) hungover sides, M/M, Merry Christmas!, and a very happy holidays!, mentions of Talyn bc they're super cool
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-20 16:12:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13150272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awfuldaycupcake/pseuds/awfuldaycupcake
Summary: Thomas hated big parties, but when he winds up at one anyhow, he finds himself next to all the seasonal decorations and the punch bowl. He's been casually sipping eggnog all night, hoping no one will notice how awkward he feels. The only problem? Someone spiked the eggnog.A lowkey sequel to this: http://archiveofourown.org/works/12790638





	On the Right Side of the Wrong Bed

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from "Drunk" by Ed Sheeran, and it's the line that follows the last one I picked because I'm unoriginal. But yeah, I really love my sides and I really love the holidays (if you can't tell, lmao.) Merry Christmas!
> 
> Follow my tumblr: pattson.tumblr.com

Thomas wasn’t a fan of big parties. Small parties? Awesome. Curling up with family and some social media? Amazing. Dancing in a close room with a loud DJ and near-naked women grinding on too-sweaty guys? Nope. Not fun. Not at all. No.

That said, he didn’t even know how he got here. It was a friend’s friend that had invited him, and he’d heard it was a holiday party and thought, yeah! There’s probably some hot chocolate, some card games.

There were no card games, to say the least.

Thomas was doomed to stand next to the punch bowl for the rest of the night, he could feel it. There was also a bowl of eggnog sitting on the table next to it. There was a little card that read _nonalcoholic,_ and Thomas was very thankful for that. Now that he knew what happened to his sides when he was drunk, he’d like to steer clear of that road. The thought of Roman and Logan making out while Patton was sobbing and Virgil was passed out on the couch wasn’t a good one. He honestly wished he could erase it from his memory entirely.

Now that he was thinking about it, wasn’t Talyn supposed to be here? They were the one that invited Thomas. Maybe he should go look for them.

Then again, this eggnog was really good. Maybe he could just stay here…

Roman, meanwhile, was not very happy with this turn of events.

“Whoever wrote that note is a liar and a cheapskate and just generally rude,” he muttered, eyes on Patton. “Non-alcoholic my ass.” Patton was already welling up in tears. A single drink caused him to unbottle his bottled up emotions, and it always had. This was not a good sign.

The four of them were standing at the party, each around Thomas. He couldn’t see them, and no one else could, either. Virgil was in the corner, looking visibly tired. Patton was hiding behind Logan, but it almost seemed like he was hiding _from_ Logan, too. Roman rubbed a hand down his face. Here we go.

“Perhaps they were trying to cover their bases in case the police arrive, I would not be surprised if there were minors here. There is a chance that someone spiked the bowl, as well,” Logan said. Roman took a deep breath. Logan wasn’t gone yet. Things couldn’t be that bad if Logan wasn’t-- “However, this could also be simply an illusion, seeing as time is a human concept and the four of us don’t exist. We are nothing. We are imagination and fiction and nothing more.”

Well. They didn’t have long, then.

“Guys I’m worried. This isn’t like last time. Last time he was at home in the dark where he couldn’t hurt anyone and no one could hurt him. Now he’s at a party with strangers and if I leave he could be killed--”

“Or worse, expelled,” Roman added, trying a smile. No one laughed. Oh. That was insensitive. This was his fault. He should stop.

Thomas smiled at some guy getting punch, noticing the strange urge to talk to him. He almost did, but Virgil pounded on the wall right next to Thomas’s head. Thomas lowered his eyes. Right. Anxiety.

“He doesn’t even realize he’s getting drunk,” Roman said. Now he was getting worried.

“I would say he has approximately fifteen minutes before he realizes,” Logan said. He gave a smile. “I, personally, fail to see the consequence. This is a party. Thomas is uncomfortable. Why don’t we let him relax, loosen up a little bit? He may benefit socially.”

“Are you,” Patton said through sniffles. “Are you peer pressuring my _son?_ ” Roman felt his heart flutter at the tone of Patton’s voice. Wow, he loved how he sounded. He always did. It made things complicated, but he wouldn’t change it… And, as he was discovering, the egg nog was only making it worse.

“He’s not your son,” Logan said.

“I will fight you!” Patton said.

“I thought that was your thing for me,” Virgil muttered. Patton turned to him, the same tears in his eyes.

“I will fight you, too! I will fight… I will fight…” Patton shook his head, sinking down. He’d gone to his room.

“One down, three to go,” Virgil muttered. Roman shook his head, forcing Thomas to look at the time on his phone. The party had still only just begun. The fifteen minutes was ticking so slow it was mind-melting. Even worse, Roman felt the alcohol start to impact him, too. An increasing guilt was eating at his stomach.

“We can’t let Patton there all alone. We did that last time, and he’s emotionally unstable.”

“If you wanna talk unstable, talk to me in…” Logan said, looking down at his watch. “Three and a quarter minutes.”

“Oh, Lo, not you too,” Virgil said. His anxiety was climbing. Roman could see it on Thomas, too, the way he was moving his fingers over the glass he was holding. That 1-2-3-4 from pointer to pinkie. It was Virgil’s biggest tick.

“Okay. Okay. It’ll be alright,” Roman said.

“Correct, he will drink enough to socially advance and also enough to silence Virgil! A win win,” Logan said. Roman groaned. He didn’t really want to leave the two of them alone together, but Patton…

“You guys stay right here. _Right here._ I’ll be back before you can say ‘Who spiked the eggnog,”” Roman said, sinking out. Logan chuckled.

“Heh. Who spiked the eggnog.”

“If you don’t shut the hell up I think I’m gonna faint,” Virgil said. He didn’t.

“Patton?” Roman said. He sunk down into Patton’s room, looking around for the little guy. “Patton?” Patton’s room was always a disaster. Everything from everywhere was here, and it was all unorganized and thrown together. Roman didn’t mind. Just because he liked his room clean and orderly doesn’t mean the other sides did, and he could respect that. The yellow tint of the room made everything appear sunshine-y, but Roman knew this room held a deep sorrow for Patton. It meant being alone.

“Roman?” A small voice answered. _There_ he was.

“Patton, are you alright?” Roman asked. Patton was curled under a blanket, magazines and photographs scattered around him. He crouched down, searching his face. Tear stains lined his cheeks, but it looked like he was currently holding them in.

“Yeah! Yeah. I’m doing great! I love, uh,” Patton started, looking down at the pictures at his feet. They were all bad memories. Or, rather, good memories tainted by time. Pictures of Thomas with _him._ Pictures of Thomas with bad ex-friends, rough pictures of him in high school. The magazines all read harsh things, one titled ‘Real Men Do Not Possess Emotion,’ a handful of them depicting body image and one even saying something about the negative side of being gay. Roman raised an eyebrow. Patton shoved the magazines away from him. “I love reminiscing! Ha. Yeah. Love it.”

“Patton, you don’t have to lie to me. I want to help you,” Roman said.

“Yeah, but--” Patton started. He bit his tongue. No. That was mean.

“What is it, Morality?” Roman said. Patton looked up, his gaze melting.

“You only want to help me when you feel guilty. So really, when you’re drunk. And I’m sorry, but if I only deserve your help now, I don’t really deserve it at all,” Patton said. He shrugged, pulling the blanket over his head. “I’m sorry. That was mean.”

“Wh- Patton! No! I never meant to make you feel this way, I-- Patton. If you ever need to talk to anyone, you know the sides are here, right? Logan, Virgil. Me. We’re here.”

“Thanks,” Patton said, but it didn’t seem like he believed him. Roman sighed, pulling him in for a hug. Patton slowly dropped the blanket, wrapping his arms around Roman. His tears, once again, started to fall. Roman felt so comforted there, wrapped around Patton and wrapped around the blanket. The world seemed so numb, so vacant...

Roman must’ve fallen asleep like that. Huh. It was unlike him. But, seeing as he woke up the next morning in Patton’s bed--

In Patton’s bed.

Next to Patton.

Roman felt his heart hammering in his chest. Oh. This was new.

He bolted up. If he was here, and Patton was next to him, then that means…

That means that Logan was in charge all night. That was bad.

Roman slowly stepped out of bed, careful not to wake Patton. He sunk into the real world, looking around Thomas. This wasn’t his room. This wasn’t his bed, either. Where was he? Where--

“Logan!” Roman called, a slight anger bubbling beneath his skin. “Logan!”

“What is it, Roman,” Logan said. It was more of a statement than a question. He was wearing that unicorn onesie, the hood pulled up and his glasses askew. He was holding that same mug from last time, the black two-tone one with weird sine and parabolic functions all over it. This time, though, the mug had coffee, not water. The look on his face was all Roman needed to know: he was hungover.

“What happened last night. Top to bottom, I need the story.”

Logan paused, taking a deep breath. “Well. I suppose, after Patton left you sank out shortly after. I myself was feeling slightly awry, so I relied on Virgil. Luckily for me we were able to convince Thomas that he was intoxicated before Virgil fell unconscious. I was left to tell him we could not drive, and, without three of his sides, it would be unwise to stay at the party. From there, Thomas found Talyn, and we asked them to take him home. He ended up at Talyn’s house, and we are in their guest room.”

“That’s-- wow. That’s actually really reasonable. How did you swing that? I’ve seen you when drunk,” Roman said. Logan took a breath. His face began reddened at the memory.

“Yes. I was lucky. I was very intoxicated, but the lack of another person to project my insecurities onto was a good thing. Roman, we’ve discussed it before, but I am truly apologetic about last time. I am glad you offered your comfort to Patton, because had you been here, I might have done something regrettable. Again,” Logan said. He adjusted his glasses, not quite meeting Roman’s eye. Roman gave him a smile.

“Thank you, Logan. That was very responsible. And speaking of responsible,” Roman said, “I believe I’m going to go pass Thomas’ s condition on to Patton, if you don’t mind. Could you wake up Virgil?”

“Yeah,” Logan said. Roman sank out immediately, leaving Logan alone in the room with a sleeping Thomas. Where, exactly, did he go wrong?

Roman sank back into Patton’s room, thankfully before Patton had even noticed he’d been gone. Roman put a comforting hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently. Patton opened his eyes, a soft little groan slipping from his lips.

Roman gave a quiet laugh. “Wake up, sleepy head. It’s two days ‘till Christmas and we’re at Talyn’s house.”

“I don’t wanna get up,” Patton whined, rolling over in the bed. Blue and white blankets were everywhere.

“Well. I suppose we don’t have anywhere to go…” Roman said, trailing off intentionally. Patton pulled him down by the shoulders, no room for debate. Roman gave a quick ‘oof.’ He plopped on the bed next to Patton, not quite touching him, but the proximity enough to make his hands sweat. Wow. Okay. The were. They were close.

“We’re cuddling, then. It’s settled,” Patton insisted. Roman felt his cheeks go red.

“Oh are we now?” Wow, he hadn’t been prepared for this.

“Yep,” Patton said, popping the ‘p.’ “We’re gonna watch the Charlie Brown Christmas Special and let Thomas sleep in. He has a headache, I feel it.” Roman pulled himself further under the blankets, nuzzling in their warmth. Patton laughed. “What? You think that qualifies as cuddling? No siree!” Patton pulled him closer, to the point where they were almost spooning. Roman’s heart was in his throat. Wow, this was going fast. And like. He never took himself for a little spoon.

“But seriously, Roman,” Patton said. “Thank you for talking to me last night. And just being there, really. It means a lot.”

“Of course,” Roman said, a smile on his lips. “It’s the least I could do. And I meant what I said, you do know that?”

“I…” Patton said. Did he? He only did that when he was drunk, and yet. Here he was. Patton took a deep breath, looking at the man curled in his arms. “Yeah. I do.”


End file.
